London, 7 October, 2017
Last 7 October the Dalí/Duchamp exhibition opened to the public after its official inauguration on Tuesday 3 October at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Attending the opening ceremony were the president of the Royal Academy, Christopher Le Brun, the director of the Dalí Museum in Saint Petersburg (Florida), Hank Hine and, on behalf of the Dalí Foundation, Montse Aguer, director of the Dalí Museums, and Joan Manuel Sevillano, managing director of the Foundation.
This exhibition is the result of intensive research exploring the bond between the two artists, what they shared in common and what differentiated them. It has been organised by the Royal Academy and the Dalí Museum in Florida, in collaboration with the Dalí Foundation in Figueres. It is curated by Dawn Ades, William Jeffett and Sarah Lea and will remain on display until 3 January 2018, after which it will travel to the Dalí Museum in the United States.
The exhibition includes some 150 pieces from more than 25 different collections, some of which are rarely seen outside their usual exhibition spaces, such as the Christ of St. John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí, on loan from the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, and The Large Glass by Duchamp, which belongs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Dalí Foundation has lent eight pieces and 13 documents, including postcards, photographs and manuscripts, such as the little-known Je mange Gala, until now only published in Catalan and Spanish.
The Dalí Foundation's contribution, in addition to important loaned works, has consisted of research into interventions by Salvador Dalí in his museum in Figueres that are linked to the work of Duchamp. The Foundation's input can also be found in the exhibition catalogue, with articles by Montse Aguer, director of the Dalí Museums, and Carme Ruiz, head curator of the Dalí Foundation's Centre for Dalinian Studies, as well as by art critic Pilar Parcerisas, among others.
